A hospital staff checks oxygen cylinders inside a hospital.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all States, Union Territory government to ensure that use of liquid oxygen is not allowed for any non-medical purpose and that all manufacturing units may maximise their production of liquid oxygen and make it available to government for use of medical purposes only with immediate effect until further orders.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister's direction to boost availability of oxygen to hospitals, the PM CARES Fund has given in-principle approval for allocation of funds for installation of 551 dedicated Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) medical oxygen generation plants inside public health facilities in the country.
In a statement, the Prime Minister Office (PMO) said, "the Prime Minister has directed that these plants should be made functional as soon as possible. The Prime Minister said that these plants will serve as a major boost to oxygen availability at the district level."
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These dedicated plants will be established in identified Government hospitals in district headquarters in various States/UTs. The procurement will be done through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The PM CARES Fund had earlier this year allocated Rs 201.58 crore for installation of additional 162 dedicated Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Medical Oxygen Generation Plants inside public health facilities in the country.
The basic aim behind establishing PSA Oxygen Generation Plants at Government hospitals in the district headquarters is to further strengthen the public health system and ensure that each of these hospitals has a captive oxygen generation facility.
(With IANS inputs)
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